The use of the national security classification system to
conceal "earmarks" -- targeted allocations of funds -- that
are self-serving or corrupt would be eliminated if a proposal
by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
becomes law.

The proposal was offered as an amendment to Senate bill S. 1,
the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007,
which is pending in the Senate.

"The amendment prohibits any bill authorization or
appropriation from containing an earmark in the classified
portion of that bill or accompanying a report, unless there is
unclassified language that describes in general terms the
nature of the earmark. The amount of the earmark is disclosed
and the sponsor of the earmark is identified," Sen. Feinstein
explained.

"This amendment would provide the public with the assurance
that the classified parts of the defense and intelligence
budgets--which are indeed large--are subjected to the same
scrutiny and openness as everything else."

"The need for the amendment was made clear by the actions of
former Congressman Duke Cunningham. According to a report by
the House Intelligence Committee, Cunningham was able to enact
a staggering $70 million to $80 million in classified earmarks
over a 5-year period. These earmarks benefited his business
partners and were not known to most Members of the Congress or
the public," Sen. Feinstein said.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales notified the Senate Judiciary
Committee yesterday that President Bush will not reauthorize
the controversial Terrorist Surveillance Program and that the
surveillance activities conducted in that program will
henceforth be subject to authorization by the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The Attorney General's January 17 letter to Senators Patrick
Leahy and Arlen Specter is here:

The imposition of a deadline for automatic declassification of
most 25 year old, historically valuable classified records on
December 31, 2006 rewrote the bureaucratic software that
governs the national security classification system. In
principle, official secrecy can no longer be indefinite and
open-ended.

Nevertheless, declassification will not be translated into
disclosure and public access until the severe logistical and
financial challenges that are facing the National Archives can
be overcome.

The Washington Post took a look at the lay of the land in "How
to Bury A Secret: Turn it into Paperwork" by Lynne Duke,
January 16, 2007: